The Overcome Mindset: Building Resilience Through Adversity

Key Quotes

"And oftentimes a lot of people think that, you know, the day that I was wounded was probably the worst thing that ever happened to me. It's not. And I'll be honest, I want to unpack even a little more. Let's step back for a second. So many people get confused in this life and they define things that happen to them as a bad day. And I have a slogan, there are no bad days. If you woke up this morning, it's still a good day because that means you have the ability to deal with whatever problem or challenge you're facing."

Jason Redman explains that "bad days" are often merely schedule disruptions, not true catastrophes. He argues that as long as one is alive, there is an opportunity to face and overcome challenges, reframing negative experiences as chances for growth rather than definitive endpoints.

"I failed as a young leader. I was an enlisted SEAL who did really well and unfortunately grew arrogant and it led to my downfall through a whole bunch of different things. It was a slow erosion of my credibility as a leader that was culminated with a bad call on a mission in Afghanistan. And even that might not have been totally my downfall if I had owned it."

Redman highlights the destructive impact of arrogance and the failure to take responsibility for mistakes. He illustrates how a lack of accountability can erode leadership credibility, leading to significant personal and professional downfall.

"So many people live their lives like, 'Hey, if I failed in business, I'm never doing that again. I'm never going to start my own business again. That was too painful. Emotionally, mentally, financially.' You know, we, we end a marriage. We're like, 'Oh, I'm never doing that again because that was too painful. I don't want to take that chance.' Whatever it is, it's a natural human thing, like you said, to, 'Well, I'm not going to put myself out there.'"

Jason Redman points out the common human tendency to avoid future pain by withdrawing after experiencing failure or trauma. He suggests this self-protective behavior limits personal growth and prevents individuals from reaching their full potential.

"So an overcome mindset is an idea that bad things are going to happen. Bad things happen to good people. I don't care how well you plan. And a lot of this is built in the, the culture of the SEAL teams. I think out of any special operation unit, we are probably some of the best. And and not to knock, I mean, all of our soft forces, our Green Berets, our Rangers, MARSOC, Air Force, all of these great people, they do an amazing job training and they are some of our most elite out there. But there's something about SEAL training. I've witnessed it. I've been a part of it. We're almost sadistic in how we come up with the way we train and try and decide like what is the worst case scenario we can come up with and then we'll try and 10x it to make it even more painful and miserable."

Redman explains that the "Overcome Mindset" is rooted in the SEAL team's training philosophy, which intentionally creates extreme discomfort and pain. He argues this approach prepares individuals for the inevitability of bad events by building resilience through rigorous, often brutal, preparation.

"And I said, 'From this moment forward, I refuse to feel sorry for myself.' And when my wife came back in, I told her, I said, 'No one's allowed to come in this room feeling sorry for me again.' You said that? Yeah, I wrote it to her. I because I couldn't talk. All I could do was write. And I wrote out that sign. And it wasn't literally there. That period of time was maybe 15 minutes. There wasn't a whole lot of thought. It literally was a stream of consciousness. And it's that attention to all who enter here. If you're coming in this room with sadness or sorrow, don't bother."

Jason Redman describes his deliberate decision to reject self-pity after his severe injuries, symbolized by a sign he wrote for his hospital room door. Redman asserts that this conscious choice to forgo victimhood is crucial for recovery and moving forward, even when facing immense physical and emotional pain.

"Suffering productively means the greatest desire in in a human being is to reduce pain and suffering that they're going through and discomfort. It's why SEAL training has an 80% attrition rate. It's because they do everything they can to make us as as uncomfortable and cold and miserable. And what enables guys to make it through training is the ability to suffer through that, but still be able to function, to still be able to motivate and do the things that need to be done despite that pain, despite that cold, despite that suffering. What that builds is this overcome mindset."

Redman defines "suffering productively" as the ability to endure discomfort and pain while still functioning and motivating oneself. He connects this concept directly to the high attrition rate in SEAL training, explaining that this deliberate exposure to hardship builds the essential "overcome mindset."